Dumping-car



No. 6:2,555/ Patentedfl'c't. I8, 1398.

c. P. TRUESDELL.

DUMPING CAR. (Application filed Dec. 22. 1897) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

WWI/woo? 4m: NORRIS PETERS cc. PHoYo-uwo wAsumc-rau, ac,

llnrrnn Star-Es ATENT FFICE.

CHARLES P. TRUESDELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DUMPlNG-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 612,555, dated October 18, 1898.

Application filed December 22, 1897. Serial No. 663,031. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that LOHARLEs P. TRUESDELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dumping-Oars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has relation to that class of freight-cars known as dumping-cars.

My object is to provide a car which will dump its load at either side and be so easily operated that one man can control the dump, releasing either the whole or a part of the load at will. The value of this latter feature will be apparent when it is considered that in the case of large loads it is often found desirable to unload a part of the contents of a car and then move forward before unloading the rest.

In case of accident or of the breakage of some part of my car the load would most probably be thrown off or strewn along at the side of the car and would not cause the train or any part of it to be thrown from the track, as is apt to be the case with the ordinary dumping-car, especially when loaded with heavy material, such as coal, stone, pig-iron, &c.

' Another object I have in view is to provide a dumping-car which when not required for use as such may be used with equal advantage as an ordinary open freight-car in which dumping may not be required, thus doing away with the necessity of keeping a large number of idle dumping-ears on hand, which at present is a matter of no small expense to railroad companies.

A further object is to provide a car which will be strong, light, durable, cheap, of easy, rapid, and inexpensive construction, and built of materials for the cheap manufacture of which abundant facilities already exist.

The advantages, operation, construction, and novelty of .my invention will be fully pointed out in the appended specification and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved car. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3

transverse bars rest.

is a transverse section. Fig. 4 is a similar View showing the floor in a tilted position. Fig. 5 is an end elevation, the outer end plate being omitted in order to expose to view the block-and-tackle mechanism by which the dump is manipulated and controlled. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the floor-sections." Fig. 7 is a perspective of one of the doors or sides of the car, showing the reinforcing angle-bars. Fig. 8 is a perspective of the bottom transverse angle-bars 2. Fig. 9 is a perspective showing one of the angle-bars reinforcing the floor and the method of joining the floor-sections thereto. Fig. 10 is a top plan of one of the loops of the dumping ap-- paratus. 1

For convenience of reference similar numerals will be employed to designate similar parts throughout the various figures of the drawings. 7

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the four angular corner-posts, the two sides ofwhich are bent substantially at right angles to the central section thereof, being similar in shape to the bar illustrated in Fig. 8. Said posts at their bottom ends are slit at their corners a distance about equal to the width of one of their sections. Said free ends are bent inwardly, one upon another, substantially at right angles to their sides and form aseat, upon which the ends of the bottom A hole is bored through these three inwardly bent ends and registers with holes in the ends of the transverse bars 2, and through these holes the securingbolt is passed, it being understoodthat all the joinings in my car are usually made by 3 4.. The ends 4 of said bars are of sufficient length to permitthem to be bent around the corners of the car far enough toreceivean additional bolt, (see Fig. '5,) thereby reinforcing the corner and more firmly securing the bars in their operative position and giving them additional capacity to resist longitudinal strain.

Longitudinal strain at the bottom of the car is provided for in the series of beams 5, Figs. 2, 3, and 4t, which extend the entire length of the car, their ends being received at either end of the car between the two inwardly-extending sides or sections of the transverse bars 2, to which they are securely fastened, preferably by means of bolts as shown. The ends of the frame are further reinforced by the outer and inner transverse plates 6 and 7, respectively, Fig. 2, the former secured to the outside of the corneuposts and the latter to the inner side of said posts at either end of the car.

Transverse] y disposed upon the beams 5 at suitable distances apart throughout their entire length are mounted the series of bolsters 8, secured to said beams in anyprcferred way. Said bolsters are provided with the apertures 9, designed to receive the journal 10, which extends the entire length of the car, forming a support for the :lloor and the bearing upon which it tilts in the act of dumping. Near each end of said journal and securely attached thereto is a collar 11, which prevents lateral movement upon the partof said journal, and thereby holds it in its operative position.

The floor of my car is composed of a series of sections 12, one of which is illustrated in Fig. 0, the sides 12 thereof being bent substantially at right angles to the body 12" of said section and the ends 12 thereof being bent substantially at right angles to the sides 2, leaving the ends 12 of the main section 12 extending slightly beyond them. The sides 12" are preferablymade strongerat the center of the section because of the greater strain upon that part. Each of said side sections is provided with the holes 13. Said floor-seetions are placed side by side, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and the sides 12 of each section are riveted or bolted to the sides of the adjacent sections lying against them.

Suitably secured to the floor, at each end thereof, is the end plate 14:, which extends upward slightly above the top of the car-frame, and is provided near its top edge with two slots 14;, to be more fully described hereinafter, Figs. 3 and i. e

To give greater strength to the floor, I employ the longitudinal lloor-bars 15, which extend the entire length of the floor and one of which is illustrated in Fig. 0. Said bars are formed with a top section 15", bent inwardly substantially at right angles to the main body thereof. These top sections are provided throughout their entire length with a series of notches or cutaway portions, separated from each other by a distance equal to the width of one of the floor sections. Said notches are each. adapted to receive two of the united. sides 12-of the said floor-sections, the cut-away portions 12 of said floor-seetions being designed to permit them to enter said notches.

' The several sections of the floor are further provided with the holes 16, and when they have all been firmly joined together in their operative position, forming a complete floor of very great strength and comparative lightness, said floor is placed in its operative position upon the bolsters S. The journal I is then passed through the apertures 9 in 5 said bolsters and the holes 16 in the floor-sections, and when secured in its place the floor is firmly held in its operative position. It will also be noted that by a proper location of the bolsters 8 between the sides 12 of the ,fioor-sections any tendency to longitudinal movement will be further resisted.

It will be observed from Figs. 3 and 4 that the lower side 4 of the longitudinal bar 4 is bent inwardly substantially at right angles 1 to the central section of said bar, which not only serves to strengthen the bar against lateral strain, but also forms a hearing from which depend the doors 17 of the car. The top section of said doors is bent outwardly substantially at right angles to the main body thereof, said outward extension overlapping the inward extension 4. of the longitudinal bars; and depending therefrom. Said doors are further provided with the angular bars 18, extending the entire length thereof. Said bars are located at a point which will bring the lower section thereof just above the floor when all the. parts are assembled in operative position. If found desirable, said doors may be still further reinforced by adding more longitudinal bars or by adding vertical bars 19, as illustrated in Fig. 7. At each end of said doors, near the top, are located eyebolts 20, designed to receive the ends 21 of the loops 22, which Work in the slots 14. The floorbar 'is provided with the catches 23, securely attached thereto and designed to register with the apertures 24 in the doors, Fig. 2. \Vhen all the parts are in their normal position, as shown in Fig. 3, they aresecured and firmly held in this position by causing the hooks 25 to properly engage with said catches 23,which renders it impossible for the car to be dumped, the top sections of the doors now operating to prevent any tendency in that direction were there no other means for preventing it.

It will be observed that the upper corners of the end sections 14 of the floor are rounded off. \Vhen it is desired to dump the car, the hooks 25 are removed out of engagement with said catches 23 and the floor is tilted. When this tilting operation takes'place, the rounded corners 26 of end sections 14 bear outwardly against the doors near their tops. Said doors being suspended from the top, as has been already shown, their top connection virtually forms a pivotal point when outward pressure is brought against them in the effort to dump the car. The lower sides of the doors now being free, this outward pressure will move the door outwardly and elevate it at the side of the car toward which the floor is tilted into the position shown in Fig. 4.

It is apparent that the greater the distance between the longitudinal beams 5 and the journal 10 the greater will be the angle to which the floor of the car is capable of being tilted. Hence the desired inclination is pro vided for by making the bolsters 8 higher or lower, as the needs of the case may require.

From Fig. 4 it will be seen that the office of the loop on the closed side of the car is to hold the top of the door in its proper position. On the other side to which the car is tilted the loop has moved to the inner end of its slot 14. As the car-floor is brought back toward its normal position the loop will move outwardly until it is engaged by the end of its slot, which serves to bring the door again into its closed position.

In order to bring my car under perfect control in the matter of dumping, I provide the block-and-tackle mechanism of ordinary construction illustrated in Fig. 5, which, however, so far as I know or am able to ascertain, has never been used for this purpose. By the use of this mechanism one of my cars with a full load can be handled at will by one man. I provide this mechanism at each end of my car and locate it between the outer and inner transverse bars 6 and 7, by which it is thoroughly protected. In employing this mechanism I use the shaft 27, which extends transversely across the end of the car and is suitably journaled in the corner-posts thereof, the outer ends 27 of said shaft being made square to receive the wrench 28, by which it is suitably rotated. It will be observed that the chains 29 are so wound upon this shaft (one in one direction and the other in the opposite direction) that by turning the shaft one Way the car will be dumped to one side and by turning it in the opposite direction the car will dump at the other side. It will be further noticed that as a necessary consequence of the way in which the chains are wound around the shaft that as one is wound up the other is unwound, thus preventing the chains from ever sagging or getting tangled. The block and tackle are sus pended from the transverse bars 3, to which they are suitably attached. They are connected with the floor by means of the eyebolts 30, which extend inwardly through a sufficient number of the sides 12 of the floorsections 12 and are suitably secured thereto. The shafts 27 also carry near their outer ends theratchets 31, designed to cooperate with the pawls 32 to hold the floor in any desired position to which it has been tilted.

It will be seen from Fig. 2 that each pawl may be used on either side of its ratchet, being equally adapted to a right or left dump.

It will be understood that the angle-posts, transverse bars, floor-sections, and in fact nearly every piece of material used in the construction of my improved car is made of thin metal and that these parts are yet so bent and so united as to give exceeding strength and durability with great lightness. At present I prefer to construct these parts preferably of Bessemer steel, though it will of course be understood that I do not limit myself in the matter of material.

Having thus fully set forth the principles of my invention and illustrated means by which said principles. may be practically applied, it will yet be understood that I do not wish to limit myself to the exact construction shown, but desire protection in all that comes clearly within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I 1. In tilting cars, a floor composed of a series of perforated metallic sections having sides bent at right angles to the body and ends at right angles to the sides leaving an extended central portion of the end, the sides being stronger at their centers and rigidly secured to each other in consecutive order, all arranged and united as set forth.

2. In tilting cars, a floor composed of a series of transverse metallic sections having sides at right angles to the body portion and ends at right angles to the sides therebyforming an extended end portion, longitudinal bars at; the floor sides having notches therein to receive the ends of said transverse sections, the extended end portions resting on said longitudinal bars, all arranged and united and combined as set forth.

3. In tilting cars, end plates having slots therein, and side doors and links working in said slots and connecting said doors, as set forth.

4. In tilting cars, end plates having slots, and side doors having angular longitudinal strengthening-bars near their lower edges, and eyebolts near their tops, and links con nected to said eyebolts and working in the slotted end plates, all arranged as set forth.

5. In tilting cars, end plates having slots and upper rounded corners, doors having eye-- bolts and links pivoted in said eyebolts, and working in said slots, said rounded corners supporting the door when open,'all arranged as set forth. .1

6. In dumping-cars, longitudinal bars haw ing flanges in combination with doors having cooperating flanges, as set forth.

7. In dumping-cars, longitudinal top bars contiguous portion of the ear-fra1ne,and cause g the door to swing outward as and for the pur- 10 pose set forth.

f In testimony whereof I aflix my signature '1 in presence of two Witnesses.

CHAS. P. TRUESDELL.

Witnesses:

H. B. KAUFFMANN, H. HUNFALVY. 

